All lectures beginning July 2015 have closed captions. If captioning is needed for older lectures in our archive, please send an email to wmcesic@usgs.gov and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

The USGS California Volcano Observatory

It's not just earthquake country!

by Margaret T Mangan, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS CalVO

Volcanic Eruptions occur in the State about as frequently as the largest San Andreas Fault Zone earthquakes.

California's "watch list" volcanoes are dispersed throughout the State and future eruptions are inevitable--the likelihood of renewed volcanism is on the order of 1 in a few hundred to one in a few thousand annually.

Waterbirds in a Changing Landscape:

Evaluating Avian Response to the West Coast's Largest Tidal Marsh Restoration Project

by Susan De La Cruz, USGS Research Wildlife Biologist

The urbanized San Francisco Bay is a critical wintering and stop-over area for more than a million migratory annually that rely on a mosaic of Bay habitats, including former salt ponds.

The 15,100 acre South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project is in the process of restoring 50 to 90% of former salt production ponds to tidal marsh while maintaining the rest as foraging and roosting areas for migratory birds.

How are birds responding to the preliminary phases of this project? How can research help optimize future restoration actions to benefit migratory birds?

We are trying to assess the impact of climate change and sea-level rise on the infrastructure, freshwater availability, and natural and historic resources of atoll islands under a variety of scenarios to determine "tipping points" - when islands are no longer habitable

Water, Nuts, and the Nation's Fruit Bowl:

California's Central Valley Hydrologic Science

by Claudia Faunt, USGS Hydrologist

Using about 1% of U.S. farmland, California's Central Valley supplies 7% of the U.S. agricultural output (by value) -- 1/4 of the Nation's food, including about half of the Nation's fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Approximately 20% of the Nation's groundwater is pumped from the Central Valley aquifer system.

The recent drought, land-use changes, and restrictions on surface-water flows have resulted in extensive pumping, large groundwater-level declines, and widespread land subsidence.

Sea otter populations are experiencing reduced rates of increase across much of their range

Scientists are evaluating the status of north Pacific nearshore ecosystems from southern CA to southwest Alaska looking for clues about processes influencing the sea otter and the nearshore environment

New technology is being used to study nearshore food webs, define the effects of adjacent watersheds, and demystify sea otter behaviors

Exploring The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

-- a Centennial perspective of the Novarupta-Katmai eruption, the largest of the 20th century

By Judy Fierstein, USGS

100 years ago on June 6, a 3-day explosive eruption at Novarupta on the Alaska Peninsula created the spectacular Katmai caldera and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, called the eighth wonder of the world by early explorers.

Why has this area remained scientifically important for 100 years, and what insights does it still offer about earth processes that shape our world?

USGS geologist and noted Novarupta-Katmai expert Judy Fierstein will describe the excitement and rewards of conducting geologic fieldwork in this remote and wild setting

USGS Science for a Changing Bay Area-- a special USGS public lecture celebrating the inaugural Bay Area Science Festival

by Patrick Barnard and William Ellsworth

USGS scientists will be
speaking about current Bay
Area research, including
recent discoveries beneath
Bay waters and the latest on
earthquake research. The
scientists will be presenting
information in non-technical
terms for the general public.
Following the speakers, a
"video theatre" will feature
two award-winning USGS
products, "Delta Revival" and
"Wetland Revival", on scientists working to restore San
Francisco Bay-Delta
ecosystems

Tracking the Nation's Groundwater Reserves--issues facing current and future water supplies

by William Alley, USGS Office of Groundwater

Ground water is among the Nation's most important natural resources, providing half of our drinking water as well as being essential to agriculture and industry, and the health of ecosystems throughout the country

During the past 50 years, groundwater depletion has spread from isolated pockets to large areas in many countries throughout the world

What are the issues involved, how much groundwater do we have left, and are we running out?

Scientists are discovering more about where our Nation's groundwater resources are most stressed, and where they are most available for future supply

The collaborative California Seafloor Mapping Program is providing the resources and scientific expertise for an exciting new phase of multidisciplinary research and a comprehensive high-resolution,bathymetric, geologic, and habitat base map for all of California's coastal waters

New mapping technology is being used to delineate areas for marine ecosystem protection and restoration, refine nautical charts, develop models of sediment dynamics, improve natural hazard assessments, and evaluate sites for offshore energy

Can new exploration and development meet future high-tech industry needs for these materials?

Silicon, Software, and ScienceMonitoring the Earth's Landscape with Low-Cost High-Tech

by Rian Bogle, Remote Sensing Specialist

The USGS is one of the world's largest providers of remote sensing data, employing the best tools and techniques to expand our knowledge of the Earth.

Working with low-cost field and aerial imaging technologies, together with emerging technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, wireless sensor networks, and light detection and ranging systems, USGS scientists are developing new methods to provide earth scientists, land managers, and land-use planners with better information about our environment.

The USGS is developing and testing new systems, sensors, and methodologies, while fostering critical domestic and global partnerships to fully utilize the rapidly evolving science and technology of remote sensing.

Changing patterns of land use are seen in urban growth, clear cutting of amazon forests, and surface mining

Landsat imagery monitors potential natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding and records the environmental impact of human disasters such as the Chernobyl incident and Deepwater Horizon oil spill

2009 Video Archive

A New Generation of Maps
Topographic Maps for the 21st Century

December 5 marks the 125th Anniversary of the popular USGS topographic map, used by engineers and surveyors, industry, academia, and outdoor enthusiasts for reliably accurate information

Starting December 3 the new US Topo maps will be available free on the Web at the USGS Store: http://store.usgs.gov. Each USGS Topo quadrangle is constructed in GeoPDF format from key Layers of geographic data found in The National Map
This new technology enables richer content, providing the user with more than a standard map

The National Map provides a continuous evolution and incorporation of additonal data layers. For more information: http://nationalmap.gov

Geohazards in the Aleutian IslandsGreat Earthquakes, Great Waves, and Great Volcanic Explosions!

by Steve Kirby, Geophsicist, and Dave Scholl, Scientist Emeritus

The Aleutian Islands are discussed with respect to geology, climate
change, and the fates of sediments produced by mountain building and
glaciation

These islands, occupied by maritime indigenous cultures known as the
Aleuts for 9,000 years, lie over an active crustal subduction zone spawning
seven great earthquakes since 1895, resulting in several destructive
transoceanic tsunamis

Over a dozen catastrophic volcanic eruptions have occurred during
the time of the Aleuts, forcing cultural separation and differences
in Inuit and Aleut languages

Continued research promises to uncover the Holocene prehistory of
such events and aid in future forecasting of mega-earthquake probabilities.

Meeting the Challenge of the Loma Prieta Earthquake

by Jack Boatwright, USGS Seismologist

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ended decades of seismic tranquility
in the San Francisco Bay region. It was considered then . as well
as now . to be a wake-up call for the region to prepare for potentially
even more devastating earthquakes. How well is the Bay Area prepared
for the next large earthquake?

Learn what scientists now think happened during
the Loma Prieta earthquake

How did this destructive event change scientific
thinking and influence Bay Area earthquake
engineering?

Tracking Mercury from Ore to Organism

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation
In a Mine-Dominated Ecosystem

Nearly 300 abandoned mercury mines and prospects are found in the California Coast Range-- the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine at Clear Lake, CA is one of them

Clear Lake is one of the most mercury-contaminated lakes in the world, but fish and wildlife there are not as mercury-contaminated as might be expected

Learn about mercury concentration in the Clear Lake water column and sediments, mercury bioaccumulation in the food web, and which fish have mercury-contamination that exceeds recommended levels for consumption

Can our Western Forests Take the Heat?!

Climatic change and the future of forests in the western United States

By Philip van Mantgem, Ecologist

Tree death rates have more than doubled over the last few decades in old-growth forests of our western states, possibly reflecting increasing temperatures, with potentially serious consequences for wildlife, fire risks, and the global carbon cycle

Rising regional temperatures have lengthened the summer drought, likely stressing trees and leading to higher death rates

Is this alarming trend a harbinger of larger, more abrupt changes in our forests?

PETROLEUM IN THE ARCTIC:

Geology, Climate, and National Interests

By Donald L. Gautier, Geologist

For better or worse, technological advances and diminishing opportunities elsewhere make the Arctic increasingly attractive to oil and gas exploration. Retreating polar ice, shifting ecosystems, and heightened development potential are vital issues to the nations of the Arctic, to petroleum companies, and to all concerned about the region's fragile environments.

A lecture by Martha A. Sandweiss on her latest book -

Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line"

By Martha Sandweiss, Princeton University

After leading one of the four great surveys of the western U.S., Clarence King was appointed to be the first Director
of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879. For thirteen years he lived a double life-- as the celebrated white
explorer, geologist and writer Clarence King, and as a black Pullman porter and steel worker named James
Todd. The fair, blue-eyed son of a wealthy China trader passed across the color line, revealing his secret to his
black common-law wife, Ada Copeland, only on his deathbed.

EXPLORING MARS: Geology, Climate Change and Prospects for Past Life

By Michael H. Carr, USGS Astrogeologist

Data from a recent polar lander, two still active rovers and three spacecraft in orbit are changing our perceptions about how Mars evolved. What do these new data imply for the prospects of past and present life?

The Indonesian Mud Crisis

Long-lived mud "eruption" inundates housing and infrastructure

By Thomas J. Casadevall, Geologist

In May, 2006 hot, dark mud appeared from a fissure covering more than 10 square kilometers, displacing more than 30,000 people. The ongoing mud extrusion has also damaged or broken important transportation and communication infrastructure, displaced an oil pipeline, caused the closure of numerous factories, and impacted agricultural development.

The USGS was invited for a fact-finding visit to assess the ongoing geological, social, economic, and political issues associated with the mud extrusion.

A Tale of Two Kelp Forests

Sea Otters and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Aleutians and the Commander Islands

By Tim Tinker, Research Biologist,
University of California, Santa Cruz

Sea otter populations in the central and western Aleutian Islands have declined by 75-95% over the past 15-20 years, while populations in the nearby Russian Commander Islands have remained roughly stable. There are no obvious environmental explanations for these disparate patterns, as the archipelagos are physically and biologically quite similar. Because of the differing population trajectories and the role of sea otters as keystone predators, the two kelp forest ecosystems that were once very similar are now quite different. What has caused these differences?

Riding the Storm

Landslide Danger in the Bay Area Hills

Peter Lyttle, National Landslide Hazards Program Coordinator,
will introduce the USGS premiere of the documentaryRiding the Storm by Karen Adams. A question-and answer session
with the producer, USGS researchers, and residents
featured in Riding the Storm will follow.

2005 Video Archive

Frozen in TimeHow Ice Cores Are Revealing the Composition and Temperature of Earth's Atmosphere During the
Past Million Years

by Todd Hinkley, Geologist

Scientifically invaluable ice cores taken from Antarctic and Arctic ice are stored and
safe guarded at the U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory, operated by the U.S. Geological Su
rvey

These ice cores are the only systematic record of the composition (including "greenhou
se" gasses) and temperature of the Earth's atmosphere over the past million years

The ice cores show that most of Earth's geologically recent climate history has been
characterized by great instability and rapid,
extreme swings of temperature, beyond anything we have experienced in historical times

These ice cores are our only source of information about natural, pre-industrial levels
of toxic trace metals and other substances deposited from the atmosphere into the world's
ecosystems

A Crack in the Edge of the WorldAmerica and the Great California Earthquake of 1906

by Simon Winchester

The international bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and Kra
katoa vividly brings to life the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake that leveled a
city symbolic of America's relentless western expansion. Simon Winchester has also fashion
ed an enthralling and informative look at the tumultuous subterranean
world that produces earthquakes, the planet's most sudden and destructive force.

In the early morning hours of April 18, 1906, San Francisco and a string of towns to i
ts north-northwest and the south-southeast were overcome by an enormous
shaking that was compounded by the violent shocks of an earthquake, registering 8.25 on th
e Richter scale. The quake resulted from a rupture in a part of the San
Andreas fault, which lies underneath the earth's surface along the northern coast of Calif
ornia. Lasting little more than a minute, the earthquake wrecked 490 blocks,
toppled a total of 25,000 buildings, broke open gas mains, cut off electric power lines th
roughout the Bay area, and effectively destroyed the gold rush capital that
had stood there for a half century.^M

Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities -- as well as his unique
understanding of geology -- to this extraordinary event, exploring not only what
happened in northern California in 1906 but what we have learned since about the geologica
l underpinnings that caused the earthquake in the first place. But his
achievement is even greater: he positions the quake's significance along the earth's geolo
gical timeline and shows the effect it had on the rest of twentieth-century
California and American history.

A Crack in the Edge of the World is the definitive account of the San Francisco
earthquake. It is also a fascinating exploration of a legendary event that changed the
way we look at the planet on which we live.

Earthquakes at the USGSBlowing the Lid off Seismic Science for 40 Years

Ross Stein, representing the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team

The Parkfield earthquake of 1966 launched a torrent of research at the USGS in Menlo Park. With the San Andreas Fault as a backyard lab and global earthquakes as a guide, the USGS has changed the landscape of earthquake science in: